Fish in the oceans are being rapidly depleted due to commercial over-fishing and the further abuse of recreational fishing. Although the information we read about suggests that recreational fishing is a minor problem and only accounts for a small percentage of the depletion of fish, it does contribute more to a sizeable unseen problem, which is that with recreational fishing, a significant proportion of fish escape with hooks in their mouths and lines hanging from these hooks, so many fish remain in the wild waters, usually permanently affected from a failed attempt of being caught. Some anglers cannot remove the hook from the more significant or unwanted (and some protected) fish species caught, so the fish are released with the hook still in their mouth, which handicaps the fish, likely shortening its life and affecting their future breeding. As bad as commercial over-fishing is, it has the potential to be adequately controlled by the authorities. 

Law enforcement against excessive and illegal fishing has been feeble globally. 

If the supply and demand for fish can be reduced in half, this would be a good starting point to help restore many fish species facing extinction. Fish meat lovers would still enjoy fish meat, but less often. In the long term, this move will also benefit the fishing industry. I am not against it, but it's evident that it is substantially excessive.

Killing wild animals is different from killing animals bred and raised on a farm because the wild animals (like fish) are doing something for the wild waters in which they live and move. Hence, the bottom line is that our oceans play a crucial role in our environment. The lack of life in it would affect the currents, as the movement from fish must play a role in helping the Earth's magnetic energies move the waters. They benefit our oceans like trees benefit our atmosphere, and maybe even more. 

Recommended viewing: the documentary goes for over an hour > The End of the Line: Where Have All the Fish Gone? | Overfishing Crisis | ENDEVR Documentary

Australia has one of the better controls for commercial fishing practices within its waters, but recreational fishing in Australia has gone excessively far. The Authorities are increasing the penalties against violators, which doesn't help the problem and worsens it. The solution isn't increasing the punishments and fines (as they are already adequate and arguably excessive for some situations), but the key is enforcement, and this has yet to happen anywhere near the scale of expectation; anglers regularly break the law, and it is widespread nationally in Australia. 

The Chanel 7 story in this YouTube video is about a 26-year-old man spearing a Blue Groper fish illegally; this is just one case of many happening by the hour; he just happened to get caught. I think this man thought it was okay to kill the fish because he did it in front of onlookers at the beach. I am not defending him, but this problem is pervasive, and the difference with this case is that he got caught. Still, in many other worse cases, anglers and fish hunters are getting away with it constantly. 

What is escalating this problem is that around half of our weekend programs on television are about recreational fishing, where there are role model personalities catching fish in the name of entertainment and displaying them gasping for life, trying to breathe out of the water, returning them to the water (only the ones we see on camera) just before they die from the lack of water in their gills. This is unacceptable because the public has become desensitized to recreational fishing and does not think of the profound negative impact it is causing on fish life, their future breeding, and the ecosystem. In other words, the life of a fish in many parts of the world now is perceived by most recreational anglers to be no different to a piece of paper on the ground, with literally no consideration whatsoever for their life and how long they have been alive  (an left in peace) in the wild waters. I believe that if the recreational side of fishing can be better (and stricter) regulated and enforced, it will help open the way for authorities to regulate and monitor commercial fishing entities and implement the appropriate penalties for any breaches by them, including shutting down operations where necessary and without any warning for significant breaches. The issue of overfishing is currently one of the world's biggest concerns, and what it is doing to the ecosystem is like what the pyramid/ponzi-like housing market is doing to the younger generation and the lower-income people in Australia. This is no exaggeration; it is severe! 

Another problem for bird conservationists related to recreational fishing, particularly shore-line fishing, is that sea birds and other protected scavenger and predatory birds are sometimes found tangled in fishing lines, and some have also been found with fishing hooks in their stomachs. The lucky birds are rescued and rehabilitated, but many are not noticed and eventually die. Fishing must be better regulated and enforced, and Germany is an excellent example of a country that does this, but it is not the only country. European countries generally lead the way with better controls and education on fishing and other wild-animal concerns.